DraftKings NBA Picks – April 2nd

What’s up everyone. Alex here, and I am back with my DraftKings NBA picks for April 2nd, 2017. Sunday’s main slate is a solid slate with seven games on tap. Be sure to follow all the injury news up until the 6:00 PM EST lock tonight, to see if any new injury news comes up. As always if any of these picks help you win or if you need any advice, let me know on Twitter. @Hunta512.

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Top Pick:

PG: Rajon Rondo: (6,900) Rondo has turned the clocks back, looking The All Star caliber player from his days with The Celtics, averaging 47.5 DK points over his last three games. Not only is he playing more, averaging 35.3 minutes a night, he has also seen his rates jump, with a 24.8% usage rate, which is a huge 7.2% increase from his normal rate this season, and 41.1% assist percentage, which is also a significant 5.5% bump from his season average. Tonight, he and The Bulls head to New Orleans to take on The Pelicans, who have allowed the 10th most DK points to PGs this season, with a solid current opponent +/- of 1.73 points.

With the Bulls winning three straight games, there is no reason to expect Rondo’s minutes to go down, and he should play right around 35 minutes again tonight. He should also see a boost playing up in pace vs this Pelicans squad who rank 7th in pace this season, compared to The Bulls who are the 8th slowest team in the NBA. (2.4 possession increase) With his new role in this offense, Rondo should score 35-40 DK points tonight with great upside if he can pick up a double-double or triple-double. It’s hard to fully trust Rondo, because he is such a unpredictable player, but tonight I think he is worth the risk in all formats with the upside he has shown us over the last week.

Value Picks:

PG/SG: Lou Williams: (5,800) Williams is going to have to step up with James Harden (doubtful, illness) and SF Trevor Ariza (personal) both not expected to suit up for tonight’s tilt vs The Suns. He has always been a high usage player and in the 162 minutes Williams has been on the court without Ariza and Harden, he is leading this Rockets team with a 28.4% usage rate, which is a 4.2% increase from his usual usage this year, and is scoring 43.6 DK points per 36 minutes of action.

This is the first game Harden has missed this season, so we don’t know who will start in place of the MVP candidate, but even if Williams doesn’t start, he should still play close to 30 minutes off the bench with The Rockets using a tighter rotation. They will need his scoring and with him averaging 1.21 DK points per minute this season when these two players have been off the floor, he should score 30+ DK points vs this Suns defense that is currently presenting a high opponent +/- of 2.24 points. He has so much upside, with the type of usage he should handle tonight and he is one of my favorite overall plays of this seven game slate.

PG/SG: Jamal Murray: (3,800) Murray is expected to draw the start at PG for The Nuggets with veteran PG Jameer Nelson out with a calf injury. There has only been one other game that Nelson has sat out this season, and in that game Murray was solid in the start, scoring 23.5 DK points in 30.3 minutes. Also, The Nuggets will be without SG Will Barton (foot), and when both Barton and Nelson has been off the floor this season, Murray is seeing a 23.1% usage rate.

Tonight, he is in a tough spot vs The Heat who have allowed the least DK points to PGs this season, but regardless of this ugly matchup, he should still meet value at his cheap salary. So far this year when Nelson and Barton have been on the bench, Murray is scoring 0.83 DK points per minute and, with 30-35 minutes tonight, he should have no issues scoring 20+ DK points. At only $3,800, he is one of the strongest values of this slate, that is a very flexible option with his SG eligibility on DraftKings.

C: Nene: (4,000) After being rested Friday vs The Warriors, Nene should be fresh and ready to go tonight vs The Suns. This has been one of the best matchups to attack ever since The Suns shut down all their veteran players, specifically center Tyson Chandler, and they are currently presenting an opponent +/- of 3.04 points to back up centers.

He is scoring right under 1.0 DK point per minute this season and after being rested he should play 20-25 minutes off the bench and hit five times value with 25 DK point upside. He is a nice cheap value at only $4,000, that will give you a piece of this Rockets team in GPPs (5-8% projected ownership), that has the highest implied team total of the night at 116.75 points.

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